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                     We were then notified that Mr. Churchill would leave from Scot land on H.M.S.
Prince of Wales, accompanied by several destroyers, on August fourth and that he would bring
with him Admiral Pound, General Dill, Air Marshal Freeman and Harry Hopkins. I notified him
that I would bring Admiral Stark, Genial Marshall and General Arnold. A day or two later I was
notified that he would also bring Under Secretary of State, Sir Alexander Cadogan, andI decided
to bring Under Secretary of State Welles and Mr. Aver ell Harriman.
 
                      It was constantly emphasized, both in London and Washington, that the utmost
secrecy before and during the trip was essential. This was, of course, obvious because the Prime
Minister would traverse, both going and returning from Newfoundland, long distances in
dangerous waters -the danger being from bombing planes, heavy raiders and submarines. This was
true, to a lesser extent, in the case of the President, whose Flagship would have to traverse waters
from Nova Scotia, passed Halifax, to Newfoundland, where submarines or raiders could readily
operate. It is obvious that the return trip of both the Prime Minister and the President should be
kept secret.
 
               All of this being accepted, I was faced with a practical problem of extreme difficulty. I
knew that the British Prime Minister is not constantly accompanied by newspaper men nor camera
men, whereas I was always accompanied -the only exception being long distance cruises on heavy
cruisers, when three newspaper men,representing the Press Associations, followed me on one of
the escorting destroyers.
 
                      I considered the p~ossibility of visiting Ottawa, being met by a cruiser at Quebec,
and departing without newspaper men on a trip ostensibly to survey the defenses of the lower St,'
Lawrence, I realized, in the first place, that it would be difficult to explain my failure to take
Prime Minister Mackenzie King with me, and I knew that it would be difficult to take the head of
one Dominion Government to the Churchill Conference in the absence of the Prime Ministers of
the other Dominions. I then remembered that I had told my Press Conference about ten days
before that I hoped to get off for a cruise on theU.S.S. Potomac to the eastern coast of Maine in
order to get some cool nights -the Summer of 1941 being extremely hot in June and July. This
became the basis for the plan of escape.